Markles Mill

Wabash Valley profiles : a series of tributes to hometown heroes who have made a difference

Description:	One typed page including photograph; brief history of Markles Mill, the oldest mill in Indiana. WABASHP R OFIA hometown h heroes who h difference. A seriies of ttributes tto h f ib t t h have made a diff dVALLEYL E SMarkles Millstablished Eproprietorsby one of the five of the village of Terre Haute, Markles Mill on Otter Creek was Vigo Countys oldest and most revered landmark when it was destroyed by fire on Sept. 20, 1938. As the community approaches the 190th anniversary of the village Abraham Markle helped to create, both the man and the mill he erected deserve deliberation. Few residents were more colorful. Major Markle was an American hero in the War of 1812. However, when the war against England began, he was a member of the Canadian Parliament. Canada was a British province. In Flames Across the Border: The Canadian American Tragedy (1813-1814), Canadian historian Pierre Berton identifies Markle as one of his countrys three most notorious traitors for leading a group of revolutionaries across the country burning towns and villages. Tried in absentia, Markle was convicted and sentenced to be hanged by the neck but not until you are dead, for you must be cut down while alive and your entrails taken out and burned before your face... Never captured, Markle was forced to forfeit at least 1,500 acres he owned in Canada. As a result, he drafted a petition to Congress seeking land grants in the Harrison Purchase on the Wabash River for Canadian volunteers. The petition was granted March 5, 1816. By executive order, President James Madison opened the District Land Office in Vincennes effective June 3, 1816. Markle, Joseph Richardson and Daniel Stringham--who traveled together from Olean, N.Y. by flatboat--secured 4,200 acres by warrant near the Fort Harrison Military Reserve in early July. Four months later Markle, who formerly owned a mill in Ithaca, N.Y., enlisted the able assistance of millwright Ezra Jones and began building a combined saw mill and grist mill, as well as a whiskey distillery. The work was completed in 1817. At about the same time, Isaac Lambert and John Dickson constructed a smaller mill on Honey Creek. Major Markle died on March 26, 1826, at age 55, before the village he championed was incorporated. Much of the Vigo County land he owned was sold at a foreclosure sale and acquired by Chauncey Rose. Son Fred Markle and the Markle family maintained the mill, substantially remodeling it in 1864. Tradition holds that it was a favored spot on the Underground Railroad. In 1878 brothers Fred and William Markle sold the mill to Henry Creal. J. T. Walsh bought it in 1898 from Creal and Charles D. Hansel leased the business in 1911, running flour and feed alternatively every three days. Hansel purchased the mill four years later, marketing homemade bread, flour and other products. In 1924 the Indiana Historical Society proclaimed the mill to be the oldest mill in the state. The 1938 fire was discovered at 9:30 p.m. by Samuel Greene and Richard Gosman, two employees on the night shift at the mill. The blaze was blamed on an electrical short. Many keepsakes associated with the mill, carefully preserved by Hansel, were totally destroyed. The land upon which the mill was located and eight contiguous acres were donated to the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department in 1999 by Hulman & Co.Always Close to Homewww.first-online.com MEMBER FDICYoull find First Financial Bank in these and other cities and towns near you: Terre Haute 238-6000 Brazil 443-4481 Rockville 765-569-3171 Clinton 832-3504 Sullivan 268-3331 Marshall, Illinois 217-826-6311 Robinson, Illinois 618-544-8666
Origin:	2006-08-14
Created By:	McCormick, Mike
Publisher:	Terre Haute Tribune-Star
Source:	http://indianamemory.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/vchs/id/1541
Collection:	Vigo County Historical Society
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/
Copyright:	Copyright Undetermined
Subjects:	Markle family Markle, Abraham, 1770-1826 Mills Distilling industries Architecture Business & Industry The Underground Railroad

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